Musician. The Allman family was living near Norfolk, Virgina, when Army Sergeant Willis Alllman was murdered on the day after Christmas, 1949. His widow, Geraldine, took her sons Gregg, two, and Duane, three, to live in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1959 while on a family trip the boys saw B.B. King perform. Their musical dreams were born at that show. They both started playing in local groups and Duane soon quit school to work on his music. They formed a band called The Escorts and later changed the name to The Allman Joys. When the band moved to Los Angeles in 1967 they became the Hour Glass. Around this time he heard blues artist Taj Mahal perform the Willie McTell classic "Statesboro Blues" and this inspired him to learn slide guitar. Using an empty glass Coricidin cold medicine bottle that he wore over his ring finger he would inspire a technique that would later be used by such artists as Bonnie Raitt and Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd. By 1968 the band was ready for a break so they moved back to Florida. Playing on demo recordings for many different artists would be his entrance into the world of rock and roll. The brothers worked separately for a time. Duane worked on the recording of "Hey Jude," the 1968 Wilson Pickett album. Pickett called him "Skyman" because he soared when he played. His friends had often called him "Dog" because of his shaggy looks. His new nickname became "Skydog." Eric Clapton heard the "Hey Jude" recording and was impressed with the guitar tracks. Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler also heard the recording and immediately wanted to use him on sessions with R & B artists. He recorded with Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Otis Rush, Percy Sledge, B. B. King and others. Otis Redding's manager Phil Walden wanted him to meet Jai Johanny ‘Jaimoe' Johanson because he wanted to form a band. Duane headed to Florida and started jam sessions with Johanson, Butch Trucks, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, and Reese Wynans. In March of 1969 Gregg was called to replace Wynans on keyboards. The Allman Brothers Band was formed. "Dreams" was the first song they learned and then Gregg went on to write "Whipping Post" and "Every Woman" for the first album. They moved to Macon, Georgia in April to be closer to Walden and Capricorn Sound Studios. Their debut album "The Allman Brothers Band" was released in September, 1969. The follow up, "Idlewild South," was released in August, 1970. After hearing the recording of "Hey Jude," Eric Clapton had long wanted to record with him. In August of 1970 he played on "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" with Clapton. In March of 1971 "At Fillmore East" was recorded. It would become a classic live rock album. The band was on a break when he suffered his motorcycle accident. He was leaving a birthday party for Linda Oakley. While trying to swerve to avoid striking a truck in an intersection his Harley Sportster struck the back of the truck and he flew from his bike which landed on and skidded with him. The band's next album was called "Eat A Peach" and it included live and recorded materials featuring Duane. The name of the album is taken from one of his interviews. "Little Martha" is the only song he wrote. Two albums were posthumously released "Duane Allman: An Anthology in 1972 and Duane Allman: An Anthology Volume II in 1974. He left behind one daughter, Galadrielle. There are no commercial video releases available that include Duane with the band. Thirteen months later the band would lose member Raymond Berry Oakley, III in an accident about a mile from Duane's accident. On March 5, 1998, The Georgia State Senate passed a resolution designating a portion of State Highway 19 in Macon from the intersection of Holt Avenue to College Street as "Duane Allman Boulevard." (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock (Cooper) Jackson)